Vote smart before Election Day; Registrar of Voters tells how to avoid mistakes on vote-by-mail ballots

Tens of thousands of vote-by-mail ballots will be sent out to Humboldt County residents today.

Registrar of Voters Carolyn Crnich estimates that of the more than 100,000 registered county residents, close to 50 percent will opt to cast their vote by mail. She expects that number to increase as more residents register in the remaining weeks leading up to Election Day.

For rural residents, casting their vote by mail can be convenient, Crnich said. It's one of the reasons the county has one of the highest vote-by-mail percentages in the state. The ballot can be dropped in a mailbox between now and Nov. 5, or delivered directly to the Humboldt County Elections Department or any county polling place on Nov. 6.

Voting by mail also has its pitfalls. Without a poll worker nearby for questions, a lot of small mistakes don't get corrected before the ballot is dropped in the mailbox. Crnich estimates that about 5 percent of the ballots her department receives in the mail need to be pulled for special attention.

Not only can these mistakes potentially discount a vote, but Crnich said they are also a burden on the elections department, especially during a presidential general election, when voter turnout is high.

According to Crnich, about 80 percent of registered Humboldt County residents voted in the 2008 presidential election, a big increase from the 39 percent that voted in the primary election.

"I would not say it is unreasonable to expect high voter turnout this year," she said. "It means a lot to people to vote in a presidential election, and in Humboldt County, they do like to participate."

None of the ballots received in the mail can be processed -- beyond checking the signature on the outside of the envelope -- until 10 days before the election. That is not a lot of time, considering hundreds of the ballots will need to be pulled for special attention due to mistakes.

Typically two, and sometimes even three, employees will need to look at a ballot if there is some question about the voter's intent, Crnich said. If the voter's intent is clear despite the error, the elections department can duplicate the ballot and correct the mistake. But that process is tedious.

"People often question why we are still tallying votes after elections night," Crnich said. "It's because we are doing everything we can to make sure that every vote that gets cast gets counted. That can take time if we are double and triple-checking ballots."

This year, Crnich is offering advice on how to avoid the common mistakes she sees.

* Fill in the box with the correct color ink.

Use blue or black ink and avoid check marks, Crnich said. The machines are sensitive and if the tail of a check mark strays into another voting option it could be counted as an over-vote. Over-votes -- more than one vote cast in a single race -- will not be counted. Using red ink is also hard on the elections department, because the machines can't pick it up, Crnich said. Although the voter's intention may be clear to the human eye, the entire ballot will have to be duplicated in the correct color ink and re-fed through the machine.

* When voting for a write-in candidate, completely color in the box to the left of the word "Write-in" and write the candidate's name on the line.

A lot of people make the mistake of doing one or the other, but not both, Crnich said, adding that because a write-in candidate's name does not appear on the ballot, there is some room for error if voters misspell a write-in candidate's name.

"People often think that you have to spell the name exactly right, or it does not count, and that discourages them. That is not true," she said. "The candidate will provide a list of variations of their name to the city clerk that we will count as acceptable. As long as the elections department can discern the voter's intent, we accept the vote."

* Sign the back of the envelope that the ballot is returned in.

Returned ballots are scanned before they are set aside to be counted, Crnich explained. A bar code on the envelope brings up the voter's registration card and signature, which is then compared to the signature on the envelope. Without a signature, the envelope can't be opened and the ballot never tallied, Crnich said. She also stressed that the envelope is not a good place to try out a new signature. The ballot cannot be counted if the signature on the envelope does not match the signature on file. Crnich said if the signature cannot be matched and the ballot is turned in early enough, the office will try to get in contact with the voter.

"But we can only do so much," Crnich said. "It really helps us if voters get their ballots in early if we need to contact them. And it also really depends on the volume -- in that case, we would be going above and beyond the level of service required."

* Take care of your ballot.

Crnich said dirty, torn, wrinkled and cut ballots make up the majority of the ballots that require duplication by her department.

"I am not sure what people are doing to them, but sometimes they come back in really rough shape," she said. "In that case, we have to go back through and look at the original and duplicate it in order to feed it through the machine."

* If you make a mistake, don't throw away your ballot.

Small errors can be self-corrected by the voter, Crnich said. If you do make an error, simply mark an "X" over the incorrect mark, fill in the correct box and draw an arrow that says "YES" to the correct box. So long as the voter's intention is absolutely clear, Crnich said her department can correct the mistake. Voters also have the option of requesting a new ballot. To request a new ballot, write "SPOILED" across the original, place it in the return envelope and mark an "X" on the right side of the flap. Sign the envelope and return it to the election's department, which will issue a new ballot.

* Turn in your ballot early, but don't vote twice.

Crnich said she is constantly surprised by the number of people who make the mistake of voting twice, simply because they forget they have already voted.

"I know a lot of people who receive their ballot Oct. 9, and by golly, they know what they are going to vote, so they send it in to me and then a month later, they are going: 'Oh my God, what did I do with my ballot?'" she said. "Then they go to a polling place and say, 'I must not have received my ballot,' and they vote provisional."

Voting twice, Crnich said, means extra time for the election's office as they work to verify that each vote cast by each individual is only counted once.

Crnich said many of the mistakes she sees can be avoided be simply slowing down and carefully reading each set of instructions before completing a ballot. Questions can be answered by calling 445-7678, visiting the Humboldt County Elections Office at 3033 H St. in Eureka, or going online to co.humboldt.ca.us/election, she said.

"The important part is having your vote count," she said. "We do the best we can, but why not take those few extra minutes and make sure it does?"

At a glance: Important election dates

Oct. 22: Last day to register for this election. A voter registration application must be submitted by midnight on the registration deadline day. Registration applications can be completed online, at the Humboldt County Elections Department, the Department of Motor Vehicles, public libraries and post offices.

Oct. 30: Last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot. To receive a vote-by-mail ballot after this date, the voter must apply directly to the elections department.

Nov. 6: Election Day. Vote-by-mail ballots can no longer be dropped in the mail, but they can be returned to the elections department or any polling place in the county.